A Beautiful New York Morning
by shadewreath
Summary: One thing Joey never thought he'd find out about his sister.Warning..slash
1. Chapter 1

Okay so it seems that yesterday I may have uploaded the wrong story...hey even I am not infallibe. Here's what I wanted to upload.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Friends...if i did It wouldn't be called Friends.

Beautiful New York Morning

It was another beautiful New York morning; the sun was shining, exhaust from the million and one cars already wafted up into the sky in a dazzling display of fumes and gray. In the apartment above the Steiner's were up and about arguing at the top of their lungs, while down below a cab driver exchanged choice words with an old lady crossing the street. Joey sighed with contentment and reached for a mug of yesterday's-or was it the day before last's- coffee. But somehow he got tangled with the wires on the counter and instead of lifting just the pot he raised up a lot of wires. Crash went the coffeemaker, splashing hot coffee all over Joey, who let out a string of curses that would have made any Italian American sailor proud.

"Holy !$& the g-damn M$#!t&, stupid crap"

His arm-still tangled up in the wires- swung back in reflex and he ended up bringing everything on the counter down with the coffee, including the answering machine which was very loud.

"HELLO, YOU HAVE REACHED JOEY TRIBIANI AND MONICA GELLER…PLEASE LEAVE A MESSEGAE OR A PAGER NUMBER OR SOME SORT OF IDENTIFICATION"

He was caught between shutting off the machine and picking up the scattered hundred dollar bills soaking in the coffee when a door creaked open and his room mate's legs came into view.

"Hey Joey can you keep it down? My date is still asleep"

Monica was wearing an oversized sweatshirt that fell past her knees, her short black hair flying in all directions as she yawned in his face. Joey hastily stood up and raised his eyebrows at her statement.

"Hey! So you brought a girl home, hope she's no one I know"

Monica wrinkled her nose at that idea but you could never say, her friend had slept his way through most of the city anyway.

"No I don't think so, I didn't meet her in a library. Say you don't hang around Ladies clubs do you?"

Joey gave her a mock-horrified look and she had a mental picture of him trapped in a ring of biker chicks. She opened the door to her room and then hesitated, turning around to look at him.

"Say, what about your sister who's coming to visit? When's she coming again?"

Joey went suddenly still, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets as he raised up a sodden post it note.

"I was supposed to pick her up from the airport last night! I knew there was something I should've been doing when Chandler called me up to go barhopping with him. Oh cripes I'm sure she's lost in the city, alone and with no idea of where to go, she must be losing her mind. I gotta go find her"

He hurriedly picked up the soaked up bills from the floor and shoved them into his back pocket, making for the door, forgetting he was still in his boxers and tee shirt. Monica called him back to tell him when her date emerged from the room.

"Good morning, I have to get dressed early so I can look -"

She froze at the sight of Joey took a step back into the room. Monica was surprised by her date's reaction, but even more so by the look on Joey's face. He twitched and jerked, is eyes definitely popping out of their sockets, mouth open but with no words coming out. She looked at them both and raised an eyebrow.

"Don't tell me she was one of your dates"

His face began to turn a botched red color, he spluttered and pointed to the girl behind Monica.

"T-that's my sister! That's Rosie!"


	2. Chapter 2

Monica stopped short with Joey's terse exclamation, she turned to glance at the dark haired woman behind her and raised frowned slightly.

"Rosie? I thought you said your name was Lulu"

Rosie-Lulu looked down, an embarrassed blush on her face.

"Well, Lulu is my preferred name"

Joey stepped back into the apartment, one hand stretched toward his sister, eyes definitely bulging and a visible tick on his cheek. He swallowed, opened his mouth to say something, and then shut it and swallowed again. Finally he seemed to find his voice and vented out in a high-pitched rasp.

" W-wha-? Y-you- this is crazy"

And with that he stalked out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him so hard that it bounced back open. A crisp morning breeze blew in through the open window and the sounds of banging pots upstairs filled the awkward silence in the room for a few moments. Monica sighed and stepped out to the coffee mess and scattered paraphernalia on the floor, retrieved a few paper towels and began to clean up. Rosie watched her for a few minutes, and then spoke up.

"I'm sorry about all of this, it's all my fault. I just never expected you to be the Monica my brother always talked about, and I certainly didn't expect you to be roommates."

The latter looked up from her cleaning and casually.

"Oh well, it's not like I'm complaining or anything. I take it that you never told anyone in the family that you're a lesbian?"

Rosie shook her head and walked away from the door, coming to sit on a stool next to Monica.

"No never quite gathered up the courage to, you see my folks are quite the traditional types."

Monica was at the sink washing off when Rosie said that. She thought of her parents and her older brother, and a faint smile came to her face.

"I think I know what you mean"

Rosie sighed forlornly and looked down at her hands, and the other woman realized just how dejected she was.

"I was going to tell them eventually, but definitely not like this. I love my family and all but I have a right to be happy, but that was not exactly the scenario I had planned. It was supposed to happen over maybe dinner after everyone's gotten so boozed they'd probably not remember in the morning. Joey is my best friend and I'm afraid I've just made him hate me for life"

Monica shook her head and took Rose's hand.

"I don't think so, I mean look at me and we're best friends, roommates even. I'll grant it that it's a little of a shock to him right now but he'll come around, just give him a little time and don't beat yourself up about it"

She watched for a positive reaction from Rose and when the latter gave the tiniest of smiles, Monica grinned and opened the cupboard.

"I know from experience that emotional situations always work up an appetite, so how about I make breakfast? Don't worry, I'm a cook so you're safe with me"


	3. Chapter 3

A Beautiful New York Morning

Ross was in the bathroom when he heard the door of his apartment slam shut. His first thought was burglars, and he reached for his only weapon- a pink hair brush- before slowly emerging from the bathroom. It was not a burglar; rather it was his one of his best friend's burning a hole in the carpet with his fast pacing. Ross set down the brush and raised an eyebrow at Joey.

"Okay, I'm sure there's a reason for this and you're just bursting to tell me"

Joey turned around and glared at his friend for a moment, his jaws working to formulate some kind of response but failing miserably. Ross folded his arms and rolled his eyes as the other man flopped dramatically on his white leather couch.

"Come now, whatever it is, I'm sure it's not the end of the world"

Joey was all hunched over, his face cradled between both hands as his fingers rubbed around his temples. He was so taken with this action that he didn't even notice when Ross leaned over the couch and started massaging between his shoulder blades.

"Let me guess, my sister ended up with someone you liked?"

However, that guess only seemed to infuriate the other man and he took a step back as Joey jerked around.

"Your sister is fucking around with mine"

A wide grin appeared on Ross's face and he leaned closer to coo in Joey's ear.

"You know what this is, don't you?"

The latter looked up tiredly and muttered.

"I'm gonna start competing with my sister for chicks?"

Ross pulled a face in consideration and then continued.

"Well that too but more importantly, it's a sign from the heavens that we should be together"

It was then that Joey finally remembered that his friend had become recently sexually 'curious' and for the past few weeks had been constantly trying to get him alone…in bed. One more thing, Ross's hands were no longer on his shoulders.

"Okay Hey-hey, I came here to talk about my sister"

Ross shrugged and came to sit beside Joey, ignoring the latter's raised eyebrow at his faded pink bathrobe.

"Well I don't see what the problem is, I mean think about Monica, you live with her after all"

"Yeah but that's different"

"Because she's just your friend? I think your issue is not that your sister is gay, but that she has managed to hide it from the rest of you until now. I mean, think about it, are you seriously bothered about her being with my sister?"

There was a decidedly rough edge to that final statement and Joey shifted from Ross. He took a deep breath and buried his face in his hands.

"It's just that I never even figured that way about Rosie. She always seemed so…"

"So what, normal? Don't take this the wrong way but your sister does have a right to be happy and it's up to you to give her the support she needs right now. I can't imagine how nerve wracking this must all be for her"

Joey nodded and got to his feet, there was definitely a little less sagging to his shoulders.

"Yeah, thanks Ross. I gotta go, kinda left the house without getting properly dressed"

Ross gave him an appreciative smile and Joey suddenly felt very eager to be out of the apartment.


	4. Chapter 4

A Beautiful New York Morning

Joey quietly opened the door to the apartment and was immediately assailed by the aroma of bacon, eggs and pancakes over the sweet smell of syrup. His stomach growled in appreciation, one of the plus sides of having a bona fide cook for a roommate. He looked around and was both disappointed and relieved to find the apartment empty; even though he had just come back from Ross's, Joey wasn't really sure if he was up to seeing his sister just yet.

He went back to his room, took a shower and got properly dressed for another day of job hunting. His character on Days had just 'killed' when the car he was driving went over a cliff, and it meant that Joey had to look for something else. He wasn't worried though, no one ever really dies on soap operas and sooner or later he would miraculously turn up after being saved from death by some rich lonely widow. Joey fiddled around the refrigerator, hoping Monica at least saved him some breakfast, and was rewarded by a stack of pancakes.

He wondered where the two of them were, Rosie and his roommate, and for a moment felt a twinge of anxiety for not being able to keep tabs on his sister. But then, she was with Monica and he could trust his friend to take care of her. That sent a tiny frown over his brow and Joey wondered where it came from but before he could spend another moment worrying about it, a message beeped on the answering machine.

"Hey dude, where the hell are you? I got a role for an autistic busboy on this new show coming up and I know it's just perfect for you"

The raspy, cigarette choked voice of his agent grated on his ears but Joey picked up the phone just in the nick of time.

"Hey I'm here, I'm good for the role. They kicked me off Days"

He held the phone from his ear as she proceeded to chew him out, and then give him the directions to the casting place for the show. Joey forgot to finish his breakfast in his haste to leave the apartment.

Monica dragged in a lungful of cool 'clean' air and expelled it out in a sigh of contentment. She turned to the woman walking beside her and noticed Rose's raised eyebrow.

"What, never seen a New Yorker that likes mornings?"

The latter chuckled softly and started to say something, but was interrupted by the ringing of a cell phone. Monica started and reached into the pocket of her oversized jacket.

"Hello"

A female voice breathlessly replied from the other end and she instantly recognized its owner.

"You get your behind here right now lady, I've got a breeding female on the rampage in my hands"

From the tone of her voice, Monica could tell that Rachel was nearing her desperation point. She winced slightly when another female voice yelled loudly in the background "Where the hell is that broccoli pizza I ordered" and wondered whether it wouldn't just be safer to try evading this task.

"Okay, I take it Phoebe isn't feeling too enthusiastic about Lamaze?"

Rachel scoffed audibly into the phone and she winced again.

"How about you get here and see for yourself. Seriously if she weren't carrying three, I'd kill her myself right now."

"Alright, all right I'm on my way"

She hung up and gave Rose an apologetic smile.

"Sorry, that was another of friends thoughtfully reminding me where I'm supposed to be. Phoebe decided to be surrogate mother to her brother's kids and you know how they get in the third trimester. Rachel would just as well kill her as take care of her"

Rose's eyes widened at that bit of information

"Rachel, you mean _the_ Rachel?"

Monica raised an eyebrow contemplatively

"Yeah, it's the same Rache last time I checked, why?"

"It's just that Joey's told me a lot about Rachel. He calls her _hot_"

Rose did an uncanny impersonation of her brother, bulging eyes and all, and suddenly Monica was struck by how much both siblings looked alike.

"Well I guess you could say she's hot, the guys think so anyway. They've all had a crush on her at one time or another, especially my brother."

She remembered the fateful day her friend burst into their favorite haunt, garbed in all the frills of a bridal gown and dragging her train behind. Of course Joey would tell his sister about Rachel, considering he was closer to her than the other girls. Sometimes Monica wondered whether there was a promise of romance between them, but then she'd remember Rachel's deep-rooted crush on her brother. Now if only he would hurry up and make up his mind about what he really wants.

She grinned at Rose and steered her across the street, toward an apartment complex.

"Why don't we go on up and meet the other girls?"

The other woman smiled with delight and Monica got a feeling of satisfaction at finally succeeding in getting her mind off the spat with Joey.


End file.
